Questions about completing a sale from the Classifieds . . .

[JFrazier]

I'm rather new at buying stuff on-line, I must be one of the few people in the world that doesn't have experiance with ebay! I recently posted an ad in the TDR Classifieds for a front wheel skin for the front of my '03 dually without ever giving a thought about how I'd go about completing the transaction. I did finally get a response from someone that signed as "j@noemail.com". I guess his handle kind of threw me, I just assumed I'd correspond via email about the condition and price of the wheel skin. He did leave a phone number that turned out to be a cell phone in San Diego I think but I haven't called it yet.



When I started to think about what I was going to say to him I realized that I didn't know how to confirm that he has what he said he had, or what condition it was in. Or, for that matter, if he would even send the item after receiving my money. He made no indication that he was a TDR member, which I guess would have gone a long way towards easing my mind on the deal. The more I thought about it the more I realized that there's a lot of risk in purchasing something through the Classifieds. It would seem there's a logical need for a "third-party" to hold the money so-to-speak, until the buyer gets to see the merchandise and OK's the sale to go forward. Actually, that only seems to protect the buyer, the seller still has to send the merchandise to the buyer and hope that he'll either approve the sale or send the merchandise back in the same condition it was sent.



I guess my question is this: is there a mechanism in place to deal with these issues? Is there a recommended proceedure for going forward with a sale in this situation? Or, am I just paranoid? I looked around in the Classified section of the TDR online but if there's something addressing these issues I must have missed it. Any thoughts or wisdom would be appreciated.



Jim

 

[Forrest Nearing]

listen to your gut... I only buy from registered TDR members, and I do a search on their posts to try to get a feel for what kind of person they are.



asking for pics helps too (though anyone can do a google image search)



Forrest

 

[barbwire]

Just by calling him and talking to him may answer a lot of your questions. Just remember that you are not obligated just because you called. Also, when you talk to him , you may find out what his occupation is. That as much as anything could tell you what kind of person you are dealing with. jmo

 

[Al Dahl]

trust

First of all there is a red mark to the right of add that shows if they are a member. In the last three weeks i bought a ats trq con @valve body from one member and a vp44 from another. last year i bought edge comp. gauges and a few other things. I have had nothing but great dealings with fellow members and some good deals Oo. Oo. Oo. Oo.

 

[JFrazier]

Hey, thanks for feedback and all the good suggestions. I especially like the idea of using C. O. D. for the actual transaction mechanism. I don't believe I've ever used C. O. D. to purchase anything. Is that available with UPS or is it just with the US Mail, does anyone know? And, I agree with only doing business with TDR members, it does say something about them, especially if they've been active posters. It gives one a chance to learn something about them. However, I'm not an active poster so don't know what it says about me. <g>

 

[Forrest Nearing]

a lot of sellers (me included) don't like using COD because it takes so long to get your money! LOL!

 

[TDRadmin]

Input From The Staff

You have received some excellent advice to your question. And other than the time delay (which is valid), COD via UPS works great.



There are third-party brokers out there that can be a middleman for a large transaction, but this is not a service that any one on staff at the TDR provides. We simply don't have the staff to get in the middle of Classified Ad transactions.



Also, just because someone is a TDR Member, don't feel comfort that they will be forthright in all situations. Nor do Non-TDR Members always act in bad faith. Call the individual. Ask for email pictures of the item(s) being negotiated. Search the TDR forums for their posts. And use COD as a shipping alternative.



Any time you purchase blind from a Classifed Ad (whether it be EBay, the TDR, or the local newspaper), you assume some risk. As we always say, "buyer beware. " With that said, we've bought a number of things (and we've sold some too) on the TDR Classified Ads, and we have had very, very good luck. But we always (ABSOLUTELY ALWAYS) do our homework on the seller.



Good luck!



Robin

TDR Admin